


We Will Be Okay

by oranges_and_ducks



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dumbledore lives but I don't like him very much, Everyone Lives who dies after book two (except Voldemort), Fix-It, Fred Weasley Lives, Gen, Hedwig Lives (Harry Potter), Peter goes to Azkaban, Sirius Black Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28408467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oranges_and_ducks/pseuds/oranges_and_ducks
Summary: Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban a few days earlier, and it takes the dementors a few days longer to notice.  By the time his escape makes the news, Harry has already disappeared from Privet Drive.He wasn't kidnapped, of course.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 17
Kudos: 148





	We Will Be Okay

Sirius Black escapes from Azkaban a few days earlier, and it takes the dementors a few days longer to notice. By the time his escape makes the news, Harry has already disappeared from Privet Drive. 

He wasn't kidnapped, of course.

What happens is this: 

Sirius escapes Azkaban and heads straight for Harry. It's late when he gets there, and Harry is alone at a park, watching the sky get dark for a lack of anything better to do. 

He hears a rustling in the bushes, and catches a glimpse of a great big black dog. Harry is considerably less stressed this time around, as he hasn't just been expelled from Hogwarts and hasn't just blown up his Aunt. So he stays still, and the dog walks forward, and then the dog is a person. 

Why Harry doesn't panic is unclear. He would have every reason to. Maybe somewhere, deep in his memory, there is Padfoot, who he loved as a child. Maybe this feels familiar for a reason he can't name. 

Alternatively, he might just be used to the bizarre by now. This has nothing on Quirrell or the basilisk in terms of novelty. Either way, for whatever reason, Harry remains calm. He asks the person who he is, and Harry meets his godfather.

Harry will remember this meeting for the rest of his life. He doesn't know it yet, but he's about to find a home.

The conversation in and of itself is very confusing. Sirius tells him that he was best friends with Harry's parents, that Harry's Dad was like a brother to him. He tells him that he was framed for their murder. He tells him about Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper. 

There is another reason Harry will always remember this conversation. It is the first time anyone answers every question he asks about his parents. 

Sirius tells Harry about how he escaped from Azkaban, and why. Harry learns that Peter, James, and Sirius were unregistered Animagi, and that Peter Pettigrew is hiding as Ronald Weasley's rat. This is probably the most alarming thing that Sirius has said so far. Nobody wants to hear that their best friend is living with a mass murderer.

Harry decides to trust Sirius Black. (Sirius looks a little like he wants to cry, or maybe hug him.) So he asks about the godfather bit. And Sirius explains that his parents had wanted Harry to live with him if anything had ever happened to them. That he understands Harry has grown up with the Dursleys, but that if he ever wants to be somewhere else, Sirius would be there. 

Harry still knows next to nothing about this man. He has no proof, no reason to believe him except his word. But for some reason Harry trusts him. Harry asks if he can leave with him. Sirius wasn't expecting that. 

Sirius asks if he's sure, because he's still a wanted criminal, and there's no way for it to be legal, and now it's Harry's turn to explain. He says that his Aunt and Uncle won't care if he goes missing. (He is right about this, unpleasant as it may be.) "They locked me in a cupboard until I was 11, trust me, they won't care if I disappear," says Harry, who has only just started to realize that this is not the sort of thing any redeemable person does to a child.

That settles it for Sirius. Harry leaves Privet Drive for good in the dead of night. All of his things fit into his school trunk. He leaves a note. All it says is that he's left and he's not coming back.

His Aunt and Uncle decide quietly not to report him missing. If the boy ran away, that's his problem, and it's less work for them.

Meanwhile, Sirius takes Harry to 12 Grimmauld Place. It's a horrid house, but it's the only safe place he knows, and he can't very well live in caves with Harry along, can he?

Kreacher is sworn to secrecy and silence. The portrait of Walburga is covered with a heavy curtain. 

The month before Hogwarts starts is by far the best of any of the summers before, and it's even better than a lot of the time he's spent at Hogwarts. 

Sirius tells him about his parents whenever he asks. He learns about the Marauders, about Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. He learns about the Marauders and the Marauders Map, a truly extraordinary piece of magic. He learns how his parents fell in love. And he finally learns why Snape hates him so much, which has been bothering Harry since he started school.

("We clashed in school. We were, admittedly, less than kind to him, and he was awful right back, though we did outnumber him. He was also weirdly attached to Lily, and maybe they were friends first, but he got even worse, and James got better.

By the time we were out of school, all his friends were junior Death Eaters, Lily would hardly look at him anymore, and she was happy with James. You remind him of your father, probably, and they hated each other. He always was a slimy git though.")

Harry even learns about the Prank and all its consequences. He learns that it led to Remus trusting Sirius less, that they were a little further apart afterwards. Sirius says that it made Snape hate James even more because he owed him now, and that it probably played into Peter being chosen as the Secret Keeper years afterwards. 

(Harry doesn't talk to Sirius for almost two days when he finds out what happened there. To Harry, his friends are everything. The idea of betraying a friend like that is unthinkable. It's the same reason he wants Peter to rot in a cell for the rest of his life. Besides, Moony is one of his favorite people to hear stories about, after his parents. Sirius always talks about him like he's special.)

Harry also spends some of his time helping Sirius sort out Grimmauld Place. He can use magic here, which makes him happy to learn. The trace won't work in a magical house. 

Grimmauld Place is full of magical things, even if Sirius won't let him near the truly dangerous ones. Together they manage to sort out enough rooms to live in. It's Harry's idea that gets rid of Walburga's portrait. It won't come off the wall, so they remove part of the wall and box the whole thing up in a soundproof, unopenable container in the attic. 

(A lot of things go in the attic. Some things just get destroyed. The house elf heads on the wall get removed with prejudice. Anything even remotely resembling an heirloom goes to the attic. Anything ridiculously expensive with no practical purpose? Attic. Maliciously dark objects? Attic, but well secured. A boggart in a cupboard becomes a bogart in a locked cupboard in the attic, but only because Sirius doesn't feel like dealing with it right now.)

Sirius even has plans to repaint. He still hates the house, but it's easier with Harry there. And when he tears the place apart, he knows that he's doing it to make a home for Harry to come back to. He thinks he might paint the whole place red and gold, just to make a point. (He hasn't touched Regulus' room yet. He's not quite ready to deal with that.)

So Grimmauld Place becomes just a little bit more habitable, over the month that Harry is there. 

They also make more serious plans.They try to find a way to capture Pettigrew that does not involve Sirius showing up at Hogwarts, but they aren't very successful. The Weasleys are still traveling, and there's no way for Harry to arrange to meet up with Ron before the school year starts. Harry alone, though, is probably not skilled enough to capture Peter unless he takes him by surprise. 

They come to some form of agreement. Sirius gives Harry the two way mirror and teaches him the spell to force Animagi into their human form. He practices on Padfoot until he gets very good at it. Sirius is reluctant to let Harry go unprotected, but eventually agrees that Harry should at least travel to Hogwarts first alone, and then Sirius will join him there soon afterwards, once the first few days are through and Harry knows how to get in. 

They agree that they should try to get their hands on the Map, though Sirius admits he has no idea if Filch still has it.

Sirius also wants to cast the Fidelius Charm on Grimmauld Place, to ensure that Harry has a safe place to come back to, if needed, and to ensure that any aurors looking for him won't find this place. It's unplottable, so they at least don't have to worry about Muggles, and the security was clearly set up by a very paranoid man, so the house is well warded. But Sirius knows well that it might not be enough in the long run. However, it's been a long time since he's done magic so complicated, even though he is a very skilled wizard, and he still doesn't have a wand. They do agree to try it with Harry's wand before he leaves for Hogwarts. 

Harry suspects that his official mail is still going to Privet Drive, as he probably technically still lives there. This bothers him slightly, but he can still hear from Hermione and Ron if he sends Hedwig, because she can return with their letters and she always knows exactly where to find him. 

He doesn't tell them about Sirius. Ron at least will know him as an escaped convict, and the whole situation is very complicated. He does get a copy of the school supplies list from Hermione by telling her that he spilled ink on his. She scolds him for being irresponsible, but she still gives it to him. 

Then the trip to Hogwarts is coming up fast. Sirius uses Harry's wand to thoroughly disguise him, and Sirius becomes Padfoot, and they go to Diagon Alley. 

(Padfoot looks like a much more tidy dog now. He's still very shaggy, but in a way that looks intentional. This is because Harry has very relentlessly been bothering Sirius into taking care of himself. Sirius always makes sure Harry eats three square meals a day and gets enough sleep and has what he needs, but doesn't do the same for himself. Harry has no intention of letting that stand.)

Sirius has business to do in Gringotts to gain access to his vault and the Black family vaults that only he has access to now. He can sneak in as Padfoot and the goblins won't report him, but only really as a dog alone. So Sirius goes to Gringotts, and Harry promises to be very careful and does his school shopping. 

Harry does a little more than school shopping, actually. 

Sure, he picks up his books and supplies, and he grabs some dog shampoo as a jab at Sirius, who keeps tracking mud into the house somehow. (It doubles as flea shampoo. Harry is hilarious.) But he has one more stop to go. 

Sirius still doesn't have a wand, and he can't very well walk into a shop to buy one. But wands go from person to person sometimes, as far as Harry knows. Neville uses his father's wand, after all. 

So Harry goes to a wand shop. Not Olivanders. Harry really doesn't want the man remembering him, and he was kind of creepy, anyway.

No, he goes to Jonkers, on the other end of Diagon Alley from Olivanders. He's never been there before, but he walks until he sees a wand shop. 

The door jingles when he walks in. 

A young woman introduces herself as the one running the shop today, and Harry lies and says that he's broken his wand and needs a new one for school. She asks him what his old wand was, and somehow he's forgotten to ask what Sirius' was so he makes something up. 

He tries many wands, and like before almost none of them do anything good. He doesn't need one for him, though, he needs one for Sirius, so he focuses and tries to figure out which one feels the most like Sirius to him.

He knows it when he gets it. It just seems sturdy. It feels unwieldy to him, but he focuses hard, and forces his magic out as much as he can while not destroying anything. 

He somehow manages to keep a straight face as the shopkeeper smiles, probably glad to be rid of him. He boxes it up, and he pays, and now he has an 11 ¼ fir and dragon heartstring wand in his bag. 

His footsteps feel lighter on the way back. Sirius is already waiting for him, so they hurry back to the house. 

When they get there, Sirius sits Harry down and they talk about what he did at Gringotts. Like he expected, they didn't care about the whole convict thing, and he was able to gain access to the vaults he needed to. 

"There's one other thing," says Sirius. "Through virtue of everyone else being dead or married off, I am now officially the head of the Black family. Yay." Sirius pauses, then continues. "I've named you my heir, so you should inherit everything should I kick the bucket. And you don't have to accept it if you don't want to, but, well, here." Sirius shoves a box at Harry.

Harry opens it. 

"It's the heir ring, something old and pretentious pureblood families do. Gringotts keeps them, and nobody will be able to tell it's there if you don't want them too."

Harry asks what it does, of course, and the answer is that he can use it to prove that he's the Black heir at places like Gringotts. Most importantly, it shows that he's family to the magic on the house so he can control it, which means he can be safer here even when Sirius isn't present. 

It was Sirius' for a while, and then it was his brother's, and after Regulus died it was magically called back to Gringotts.

Sirius stresses that he doesn't have to wear it if he doesn't want to, and that he just wants Harry to have the option.

Harry slips it onto his finger and Sirius shuts up. He wills it invisible, just to see what would happen, and it's like he isn't even wearing it at all. 

"There's probably a similar one for the Potters somewhere, since you aren't of age yet. It wouldn't change anything, but it might be nice for you to have." says Sirius. "Just ask next time you're in Gringotts. You could even go as yourself, if you want." 

Harry does want. He wants to feel closer to his parents. So he goes two days before he gets on the train to Hogwarts, and he gets the Potter ring. Like Sirius said, it doesn't change anything, but it is nice to have. He can will it invisible and still know that a piece of his father is there with him.

Before he does that, though, before the conversation is even over, he has a gift to give to Sirius. He gets out the wand and gives it to him, and politely ignores how Sirius gets a little misty eyed when he holds it. 

"I didn't know what your old one was, I'm sorry, but this one felt the most like you so I hope it's-"

Sirius waves it, and Harry shuts up as the air around them turns warm and decidedly sunshiny. It reminds him of the first time he was ever in Olivanders.

Sirius looks at him with bright eyes and thanks him wholeheartedly. He laughs when Harry tells him what the wand is, though. 

"I'm fairly certain I match Mcgonagall now, Harry!"

Then Harry is laughing too, because by now he's heard stories about Professor Mcgonagall from when the Marauders were in school. (He had already respected her a tremendous amount, but it's even more so now.)

It's a very good day.

A day before the Hogwarts Express leaves, they perform the Fidelius Charm. The location of 12. Grimmauld Place is sealed away. Harry is the Secret Keeper, because Sirius is the only one who can cast it. He can't very well cast it on himself. Harry is tremendously relieved that it is there, and tremendously nervous. Sirius has placed a great deal of trust in him, and Harry wants to keep them both safe. (Harry is also tremendously glad, in a small way, to finally be helping to keep himself safe.)

Then the day comes. Sirius transforms, and Padfoot sees him off to the train platform, even after Harry scolds him about staying hidden. Harry hugs him, promises to stay safe and contact him with the mirror after the feast, and shoos him off before anyone notices. 

He meets Ron and Hermione, and they hug him and remark that he looks well, and yell at him for only answering half of their letters, and introduce him to Hermione's new cat and Ron's new wand. All is almost well, if he can forget the rat in Ron's pocket. 

The first somewhat empty carriage has a sleeping man in it. They go in anyway, and then his case says R. J. Lupin on it and Harry is suddenly very very excited. Sirius is going to flip his lid over this. 

Remus looks like he needs his rest, and Ron and Hermione are there so he sits there in mostly silence. Ginny and Luna join them eventually, and they all talk quietly around him. 

There are dementors on the Train. There are dementors on the train and screaming in his head and then there aren't and there isn't and Remus is offering him chocolate. He eats it. It's good. 

After that the sorting is uneventful. The news of the dementors is worrisome, and the introduction of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher is great, though only a few people clap. Harry is one of them of course. Snape looks pissed.

Everyone is excited about this, that or the other thing. If it's not the dementors, it's Hogsmeade. Harry never did get his permission slip signed by the Dursleys, and he doesn't want to call attention to his living situation. Besides, he knows that Sirius isn't trying to kill him, so he's just going to sneak out with the cloak anyway. 

(Sirius made sure he knew of at least three secret passages and the Room of Requirement. He knows how to get to Hogsmeade, even if he doesn't know all the secrets yet.)

Directly after the feast, he calls Sirius on the mirror and tells him about the dementors and Remus. Sirius is delighted. 

"You can go to him if you ever really need help. He'll believe I'm guilty, the whole thing looked pretty damning, but he might believe you, and he certainly won't turn you away. He would recognize Peter too. And believe me, he'll be a great teacher."

He's less delighted about the dementors, and begrudgingly agrees to stay in the Forbidden Forest, most of the time as Padfoot. Harry wants him to go back to Grimmauld Place, but Sirius insists on staying close while Peter is there.

The issue of Peter Pettigrew is, however, shockingly simple to resolve. Crookshanks, Hermione's cat-who-is-definitely-part-kneazle, has taken an instant dislike to Scabbers. If Scabbers goes missing, Harry knows who Ron will blame. He'll feel bad about it, but he knows he can clear the whole thing up after Sirius' name is cleared. He knows Ron won't believe him without proof, and he is not exposing his friend to Pettigrew the mass murderer if he doesn't have to.

It still takes about a month for the perfect opportunity to show up. He hasn't been able to find the Map, it wasn't in Filch's office when he snuck in with the cloak. He has to wait for Ron to leave Scabbers alone long enough, and he can't stun Scabbers at night without waking someone up.

Finally, Ron forgets Scabbers in the common room one day when he's running late and hasn't done his homework. He hides under the cloak in case Peter sees him coming, stuns him as quick as he can and locks the rat very securely in an Animagus-proof cage Sirius had made for this very purpose.

He races down to the Forbidden Forest under the cloak with the cage and the mirror. Sirius meets him there, and then Pettigrew is well and truly captured. 

"Don't kill him," reminds Harry. "And that includes forgetting to feed him. He can prove your innocence, and I want him to spend the rest of his life in jail."

Sirius does not kill him. Harry sneaks back into the castle and ends up with detention for being late to class. Ron is freaking out about his missing rat, and Harry does feel bad. But Ron is safe now, and he will tell Harry and Hermione everything as soon as Sirius' name is clear. 

Sirius returns to Grimmauld Place and owls Dumbledore. (Dumbledore is a scheming old man, but he does tend to work for the greater good, and he is an invaluable man to have on your side. Sirius still hasn't forgiven him for the Dursleys, though.) Sirius tells Dumbledore that he is innocent, and can prove it. He asks for a private meeting at a neutral location. Dumbledore wants to believe that Sirius is innocent, so he agrees. 

Sirius explains about Peter, and where he was. He does not explain how Harry was involved. Dumbledore doesn't need to know that. Sirius hands over Peter. He drinks the Veritaserum that Dumbledore gives him, and he tells the truth about that night in Godric's Hollow. He does not yell at Dumbledore about the Dursleys. He'll do that later.

Dumbledore takes Peter. And sets about clearing Sirius' name. 

He also gets the Dementors the hell out of his school. 

Sirius tells Harry this, and that it's going to take a few months for something this complicated to happen. It would be best, he says, for Harry to not mention any of this in the meantime, because Sirius is still technically an escaped convict and he didn't tell them Harry was involved. 

Harry will keep to this mostly. He still plans on telling Ron and Hermione after it all works out, but he knows someone who he thinks should know. And who he thinks will believe him. 

Harry's favorite class this year has by far been Defense Against the Dark Arts and Professor Lupin is a brilliant teacher. 

(The first time Harry says "Professor Lupin" while talking to Sirius, Sirius groans and says "Oh my god, please just call him Remus when you're talking to me. He ought to be your Uncle Moony, you know." And Harry mostly does. It feels more natural anyway; he's heard enough about Remus from Sirius that hearing Professor Lupin is a little strange. Harry is terrified that he's going to slip up in class and then Professor Lupin will know he's been talking to Sirius.)

He's kind to all the students, he knows a tremendous amount about his subject, and they gain loads of practical experience. Neville in particular is flourishing in his class. He never makes them feel bad about asking questions, either, and he has a hidden mischievous streak a mile wide.

Harry thinks Remus deserves to know that his oldest friend isn't a killer. So Harry shows up in his office after class. Harry knows he has to get this right, but he can't resist the urge to have a bit of fun with it. 

"So, Uncle Moony, huh? I guess I can kind of see it."

Remus looks like he's seen a ghost. "What."

"I have a secret to tell you, but you can't tell anyone you heard it from me."

"Harry, what's going on?"

Remus has all too good of an idea as to what is going on, but he seriously hopes he's wrong.

The next words stop him dead in his tracks. "Sirius Black is innocent. Peter Pettigrew was their Secret Keeper."

"What," says Remus again, much more softly. 

Harry tells him that Peter Pettigrew has been captured, that Dumbledore has spoken to Sirius and believes that he is innocent, and that the dementors are gone because of that. 

He tells Remus that Dumbledore would probably confirm it for him if he asked. 

(Remus doesn't need to. He believes Harry already. He shouldn't. He really, really shouldn't, he knows that, but he does. He feels guilty, too, about how much easier Peter's betrayal is to stand. He never wanted to believe that Sirius could kill James and Lily, and now he doesn't have to.)

"Can I talk to him?" is what Remus says instead. 

Harry asks him not to tell anyone that he heard about Sirius from Harry, because Sirius wanted to keep Harry out of everything and hadn't told Dumbledore that he was involved. He also says he can send a letter with Hedwig if Remus wants, which he does want to. Harry then leaves him alone, because he feels like he's dropped enough news on him for one day.

He'll be back.

Harry doesn't read the letter Remus writes, but he does send it. Then he calls Sirius and apologizes, before doing the mirror equivalent of hanging up. Sirius had asked him why, and to be honest, Harry really doesn't know. Maybe he just wanted the both of them to be happier, which he does, but Harry thinks he mostly just wanted an Uncle.

(It's been stuck in Harry's head since Sirius said it. Harry's never had family, really. He has the Weasleys, but he'll always be Ron's friend there. It's a great thing to be, but still. Now he has a godfather, and that's more than he thought he could have. 

He doesn't want someone just to call family, though, that's what Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia had been. He wants someone to be family, and he remembers how Sirius always talked about Remus, and thinks that maybe, if he plays his cards right, he can get more family.)

School continues. It's pretty properly boring, after that. He learns, he goes to Quidditch practice. Gryffindor beats Hufflepuff in a very close game, and the opposing Seeker, Cedric Diggory really comes close to getting the snitch before Harry. Cedric loses graciously too. Harry does not fall off his broom, and said broom does not get smashed by the Whomping Willow. This is ideal.

Ron and Hermione are still quietly fighting about Crookshanks and Scabbers. Harry still feels very bad about that, but he knows it'll be resolved soon. 

He talks to Sirius with the mirror often, and he knows that Sirius and Remus have continued sending letters. He doesn't know what they talk about, but Remus has seemed happier, lately. 

He also visits Remus sometimes and asks about his mother. Sirius had said that Remus had been by far the first of the Marauders to befriend Lily, and Remus doesn't seem to mind talking about her. He always makes Harry tea and asks him how classes are going, and tells him what Lily had been like when she was young. 

The very first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up too. All of the third years are really excited. And Harry is a little disappointed that he won't be able to go around openly in Hogsmeade like they can. Apparently Ron at least picks up on that, because Fred and George corner him in one of the third floor classrooms. 

They give him the Map. They tell him they nicked it from Filch, and Harry is saying "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" before he can stop himself. Fred and George lose their minds, but they get quiet when Harry tells him his Dad was Prongs. George (or maybe Fred) puts an arm around his shoulders and tells him that it's his now, then, and they're glad of it. 

Harry thinks he has to introduce those two to Moony and Padfoot sometime. He also wonders if there's a way to take Wormtail's magic off the Map. 

Harry sneaks out to Hogsmeade. Hermione tells him off for it and tells him that there's a killer on the loose, but he lets her know that Dumbledore told him that he shouldn't worry about Sirius Black coming for him personally. It's not even too much of a lie. Just the "Dumbledore told Harry" bit is.

He shows them the map too, tells them that his Dad is Prongs. Ron finds it amazing. Hermione is a little more reserved, but she understands.

He has a great time. He tries Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks with a bonus side of eavesdropping on people gossiping about his godfather, which he finds rather amusing. 

(When he visits Remus after the Hogsmeade trip, he offers Harry some Butterbeer. Harry blurts out that he has already tried some, and then has to lie about not having been to Hogsmeade. Remus doesn't believe him, not in the slightest. Harry knows this. Harry wouldn't even have believed himself. But Remus doesn't call him out on it, for whatever reason.)

He also gets to throw snowballs at Malfoy and visit the Shrieking Shack. He takes it in for a long time, looking at this piece of his family's history.

Then it's time for Christmas. For the first time in a very long time, Harry is excited to go home over the Holidays. He never has before. When Professor Mcgonagall comes around with the list, Harry says he's going home with a smile on his face. 

Padfoot picks him up at Kings Cross. Harry is delighted to see him, but still greets him with a whispered "Pads, anyone could see you!"

Padfoot just grins.

Grimmauld place doesn't look much different on the outside, but the inside is a whole different story. As soon as Padfoot gets inside, he becomes Sirius and hugs Harry. As soon as he lets go, Harry just gawks at the walls. Where once there had been a variety of dismal wallpaper, the walls of the first floor are now a light shade of very pale blue. It makes the whole house seem bigger. Even the ambient magic feels more welcoming. 

"Like it?" says Sirius? "Wait until you see what I did to your room!"

Harry does like it. "Did you do something to the magic too?"

"Yes, actually! Remus had some ideas about that, and one of them worked really well."

That makes sense to Harry. It would explain the amount of Post Remus and Sirius seem to be sending back and forth. 

Harry's room is Sirius' old room. He's taken down all the posters and put new furniture in, but the walls are still a bright Gryffindor red. It's slightly different now, though. The color seems to be shifting on the wall, in curls of lighter and darker shades, and when he touches it, the pattern shifts around his fingers.

It's perfect and he tells Sirius as much.

The days that follow are equally as perfect. It even snows two days before Christmas. He and Sirius sort out more stuff around the house. They have almost all of the actively evil stuff sealed away, though Sirius hasn't even started on the library and doesn't particularly want to. He tells Harry not to either, as some of the books are downright nasty and are liable to make him forget his own name, and others might curse the air in his lungs. Harry leaves the library alone. 

He notices, when he opens a box in the attic, that almost everything silver is locked away too, but he doesn't think on it much.

All in all, about a third of the rooms in the house are completely done. The kitchen and sitting room on the first floor, half of the rooms on the second floor (including Harry's room but not Regulus'), the bedroom Sirius picked on the third floor and all the bathrooms are safe and not nearly as depressing as they were before. Some are downright cheery. 

The dining room and library on the first floor are still death traps. They try not to think about the basement. The attic has gotten exponentially more dangerous since they keep (securely) storing everything up there. (There is still a boggart up there. Sirius hasn't felt like dealing with it yet.) The rest of the rooms are still dismal, but not likely to harm anyone. 

Harry also remembers to show Sirius the Map, which gets exactly the reaction he thought it would. Sirius doesn't know how to get Wormtail off the map either, but he's all for it if Harry can figure it out. 

Harry's Christmas Eve is spent in front of the fireplace in the sitting room, eating cookies and relaxing. When he goes to bed, he notices a snitch darting across the wall that he hadn't noticed before. 

It's part of the paint, but brilliantly done. It never stays in one place for long, and sometimes it hides in the swirls of red. Harry taps it with a finger and it stills for a minute before darting off again. He drifts off to sleep with visions of snitches dancing in his head.

He wakes bright and early on Christmas morning and he has presents to open. He sent Hedwig to Ron and Hermione days ago with their gifts, and she had come back with theirs to him. He tears them open right away.

Hermione has sent him a boring looking book about wizarding history, but on page 158 there's a note sticking up and a few pages about the Potters. From Ron, Harry gets a stash of Zonko's goods. He also gets a Weasley sweater and a great deal of fudge from Mrs. Weasley. 

For that reason alone Harry is in a good mood as he goes downstairs. 

There are pancakes in the kitchen, and Sirius is reading a letter at the table. He folds it and sets it aside when Harry comes thundering down the stairs.

The pancakes are delicious. Of course they are, Kreacher made them, and for all his flaws, he can cook. Harry has no idea how Sirius convinced him to do so, but he'll probably thank the house elf later. Kreacher is generally unpleasant to be around, but Harry can stand it for a few minutes to spread some Christmas cheer. 

Sirius gives him a book on cartography charms and says it's similar to the sort of magic they used to make the Map. Harry also gets several intricately designed Christmas ornaments and a load of sweets.

He gives Sirius a few bottles of Butterbeer he saved from Hogsmeade, a few things he got from Fred and George (a screaming Yo-Yo and a trick wand respectively), and copies of most of the photos from the album Hagrid got him his first year. (Harry noticed that Sirius doesn't have any photos. Or much of anything sentimental, really. He thinks it all would have gotten lost 12 years ago, but he doesn't want to ask.)

Sirius also has a piece of good news for him. His exact words are "Harry, I got word from Dumbledore this morning. Peter's trial is almost finished, and he expects that I'll be a free man in about two weeks."

Harry thinks it's the best Christmas gift of the year.

The last few days of break go by quickly, and before Harry knows it, it's the day before he goes back. 

Sirius sits him down and has one last serious conversation with him. He asks Harry if he would consider telling Remus about Number 12 Grimmauld Place, and that he absolutely doesn't have to if he doesn't want to, but that Sirius thinks it's a good idea, and would he please think about it?

Harry doesn't have to think longer than a few seconds, and he says he'll tell Remus the first chance he gets. 

Then Harry is back off to Hogwarts. 

Things immediately pick back up again, as they are barely back a few days when Draco antagonizes Buckbeak the Hippogriff and faces the consequences. Buckbeak is sentenced to death, which is then appealed, so they at least have a while to figure that mess out. Harry knows that this is going to be like the dragon thing all over again. 

Harry meets with Remus as soon as possible. Remus makes him a cup of tea and Harry says he has something important to tell him, and is there anyway anyone could be listening?

Remus casts a few spells and says no, and then Harry speaks clearly and concisely. 

"Sirius Black and I live at Number 12, Grimmauld Place."

Thankfully, Remus understands right away. (He has also long since been informed of the Dursley Situation and is therefore not surprised on that account.)

He thanks Harry, and then they talk about unimportant school related things for a while. 

A week later, he, Ron, and Hermione are neck deep in Hippogriff research when Harry gets the owl. 

Sirius is a free man. An official statement regarding Peter and Sirius will be released within a week. 

Harry is downright giddy the whole day. Then he remembers one slight issue, and asks Sirius to tell Dumbledore to tell the Weasleys ahead of time.

Sirius writes a polite letter to Dumbledore, saying he should probably explain the whole Scabbers thing to the family who had him before the news breaks. The Weasleys get all called down to Dumbledore's office and come back horrified. Ron is so shocked he even manages to apologize to Hermione, who he had still been acting coldly to. 

Ron explains to Harry and Hermione. Then it's Harry's turn to explain that he's been living with his godfather (though he doesn't say where, and he does say that only two people know he isn't with the Dursleys, so it's important they don't tell anyone) and that he's the one who stole Ron's rat. And then it's Harry's turn to have Ron pissed at him.

"Why didn't you say anything! It's been months!"

"Only like two! I knew you'd want proof, but the proof was a homicidal maniac, and I didn't want you to die! And then afterwards I didn't have any proof at all!"

"I would have believed you!"

"HARRY. RON." cuts in Hermione. "Would you stop!"

Ron storms off. Hermione tells Harry that she understands, but she does wish he would have told them. Then she asks to hear about Sirius, and Harry tells her what he's like.

Ron stays mad for almost a week, and Harry starts freaking out. He didn't mean to hurt Ron. He starts thinking. 

("Hey Sirius, can we get Ron an owl?" 

"Yeah, sure why?"

"His last pet turned out to be a person and I feel bad about the whole thing turned out.")

Harry gives Ron the owl. Ron refuses to take the owl, and says Harry can't buy his friendship. Harry apologizes and says he didn't mean it that way, and that he's sorry that he was part of the reason Ron doesn't have a rat anymore.

This does not quite compute for Ron. 

"Wait, you think I'm upset because I'm no longer being semi-stalked by a human-rat? No, I'm upset because you don't tell us anything."

Harry gets it now. He can probably fix this. 

"Professor Lupin was best friends with my Dad and Sirius, and I'm trying to get him to be family without him noticing."

Ron looks at him in confusion.

"I'm never going back to the Dursleys, and Dumbledore can't make me."

"Harry…"

"I'm the Secret Keeper for my home with Sirius, and as soon as Sirius says it's okay I'll tell you and Hermione where it is."

"Harry, shut up, I get it, I get it. It's okay." And Ron is smiling at him and asking him about being a Secret Keeper, and eventually they go back to Hermione and help her research for Buckbeak.

(Harry makes Ron keep the owl, but Ginny names the poor thing before any of them can. Pigwidgeon seems happy with the name, but Ron sure isn't.)

The news about Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black goes live. Fred and George make sure to spread the news of exactly where Peter had been staying. 

Sirius Black shows up at Hogwarts. 

Harry and Sirius had talked about this. They agreed that Sirius should make a fuss about getting to see his godson so that no one could ever suspect that this wasn't their first meeting. But he didn't expect Sirius to just be so extra. 

Professor Sprout pokes her head into the Transfiguration classroom and calls Harry out. Then she tells Professor Mcgonagall that she might as well head down too, as she'll probably want to see this. Harry knows exactly what was happening. 

They run into Remus on the way to Dumbledore's office. He takes one look at Harry and sighs. "Really?" he asks, somewhat rhetorically, but he follows them at a somewhat slower pace anyway. 

Waiting for them are Dumbledore and Sirius, discussing something quietly. Sirius almost looks like a respectable wizard for once, in robes instead of the Muggle clothes he wore at Grimmauld Place. Then he turns and the illusion shatters, because something like unholy glee is lighting up his face. 

Harry winces. He has a feeling-

"Minnie, my love," Sirius says, pulling out his wand, the one Harry got him. "We match now!" Off to the right, Remus is hiding his face in his hands. 

"Do we?" asks Professor Mcgonagall sternly, though Harry can tell she's trying not to smile.

Sirius pivots. "Remus, hello! So good to see you!" Remus is glaring at him, but that doesn't faze Sirius one bit, who hugs him. Remus hugs him back, of course, but he goes back to the glaring right afterwards. 

"And that leaves…" Sirius turns again, this time to face Harry. "You must be Harry. I'm your godfather, it's good to meet you."

I must keep a straight face, thinks Harry.

He sticks his hand out. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Black" says Harry in his politest tone. 

Sirius looks affronted. Remus' glaring abruptly switches to trying-to-not-laugh-my-head-off-ing. 

Sirius shakes his hand. 

"I wonder if I could have a moment alone with Harry? We have a lot to talk about."

"I think that would be alright," says Harry before Dumbledore can answer. 

Sirius and Harry do not have a lot to talk about, because they had spoken two days ago to plan for today. They do discuss Quidditch scores for about 15 minutes, and Sirius tells Harry that they should probably start convincing Remus to spend full moons at Grimmauld Place instead of shut in somewhere. (He can just floo in from Hogsmeade, it's not that hard.) Harry thinks that maybe he and Sirius both have the same ideas about family. He asks about telling Ron and Hermione about Grimmauld place, and Sirius sees no reason not to. Sirius hugs him goodbye before they leave the office, muttering something about a handshake, and Harry goes back to class.

He tells everyone that he met his godfather. 

Later that evening he tells Ron and Hermione where he lives. It feels nice to tell them. 

The next day, Snape is a lot worse than usual, especially to Harry, and he looks like he wants to set Remus on fire with the force of his glare.

Harry suddenly very much does not trust that Snape won't poison the Wolfsbane potion he makes for Remus.

Harry then has two problems, Buckbeak and Snape. 

He tries asking Remus first about what's going on with Snape. 

Remus does answer him, but it doesn't clear up much in terms of what to do about it. 

(“It was like with you and Draco, Harry, if more… extreme.

Sirius and James were idiots in school, Harry, let nobody tell you different. But they were wonderfully clever and they grew up a great deal. Snape was on the wrong end of their idiocy rather frequently, and sometimes even their cruelty. But he was very far from innocent himself. 

The only Muggleborn he considered worth anything was Lily, and she didn't appreciate that at all. Snape got even worse after that, and stayed obsessed with Lily. His friends were all Death Eaters, in the end.

James grew up quickly. He made Head Boy and he was great at it, and he spent a lot of time with Lily, who was Head Girl, and she realized that he was someone she liked. 

Snape would have hated James forever for that alone, and it is unfair and cruel of him to take that out on you, Harry.

He hates Sirius too, and Sirius hates him back. It's caused them both to do distasteful things in the past, and that's what's causing this bout of animosity. I think Snape rather liked the thought of Sirius in Azkaban.")

He is much more directly helpful about Buckbeak, though, and passes on several books for Harry to loan to Hermione.

Harry also manages to pass on Sirius' full moon invitation, and Remus says he'll think about it. Even Harry knows that's the adult version of a hell no, but he can work on it. 

The next few times they meet, the following lines are included- 

"Have you thought about it?"

"I think Sirius is learning to make the Wolfsbane potion. Imagine all that effort gone to waste."

"I think Sirius is lonely, he needs the company."

"Padfoot could keep you company."

Then comes the full moon where Snape is the substitute. He teaches a chapter on werewolves and asks them to research how to recognize and kill them. Harry hates him wholeheartedly in that moment. 

Harry doubles down.

"You won't have to be in the same building as Snape for a day."

"Sirius can make you eggs the morning after." (Remus chokes on his tea at that and won't tell him why.)

In the end, it's the library that gets him. 

"The house has this whole room just filled with books, and Sirius hasn't even tried to sort them. You could probably have a look while you are there."

And Remus agrees. Harry calls Sirius on the mirror to let him know and gets congratulated for at least partially overcoming Remus Lupin's deep seated fear of being a burden on his friends. 

With that, at least, out of the way, he gets started on the Snape thing. First step: Networking. 

He starts with Hermione and Ron, and tells them that he's sure Snape is going to try and get Professor Lupin fired. 

They branch out from there. They figure they have a few avenues to pursue.  
1) blackmail Snape  
2) get the two of them to get along  
3) get Snape fired  
4) get Remus recognized as a hero for something so he has an impeccable reputation  
5) convince Dumbledore to intervene  
6) start their own wizarding school in the woods somewhere  
7) create a scandal with Snape in the center of it  
8) unionize the students  
Harry's sure they'll come up with a good idea eventually. 

The Buckbeak thing isn't going much better. Hermione is as well prepared for the trial as one could possibly be, but Harry isn't particularly hopeful. He keeps on with the research, but on the side he starts planning to steal Buckbeak away. 

Hermione immediately finds the problem with that plan. They'll assume that Hagrid did it. So they either need to steal Buckbeak while ministry officials are with Hagrid or very convincingly fake the death of a Hippogriff. 

("How do you fake the death of a Hippogriff?"

"I dunno, lots of blood? Maybe a boggart, is anyone scared of Hippogriffs?")

The year goes on. Gryffindor absolutely flattens Ravenclaw at Quidditch. They add more people to the keep-Snape-from-getting-Lupin-sacked brainstorming group. Harry thinks the older students are weirdly invested until they explain that Quirrell was awful and that Lockheart was somehow a worse teacher than actual Voldemort (though they don't know that bit). They have OWLs and NEWTs and life after graduation to think about. They would like to keep the competent teacher, please and thank you.

Time passes. 

Buckbeak's hearing sentences him to death. 

The day of Buckbeak's execution dawns bright and clear. They haven't found a convincing way to fake a Hippogriff death, so plan A it is. They need to get Buckbeak out while Ministry officials are with Hagrid. 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione go armed with the cloak and the Map and get the perfect opportunity. Fudge checks that Buckbeak is there and then goes and gossips with Hagrid while filling out the paperwork. The executioner looms menacingly near the door of the cottage, but isn't anywhere near Buckbeak. 

They sneak Buckbeak into the woods. The Hippogriff is saved. Then they realize they may have failed to think this whole thing through. So they have a Hippogriff. Now what? They can't just let him go, he'll get found out eventually. And it's evening on a full moon, so Sirius is probably a dog right now, and there's not a whole lot of point to calling him for help. 

(Besides, Harry forgot to bring the Mirror, so he couldn't if he wanted to.)

So they chill in the woods with a Hippogriff for a while. All night, actually. 

They can't call Charlie, either, because he works with dragons and wouldn't have a place for a Hippogriff. 

Sirius is still their best bet. They send Ron into the castle with the cloak to fetch Harry's mirror once the sun comes up and he's less likely to get caught. (Buckbeak likes Harry best. It would be unwise for him to leave.)

Harry and Hermione meet a centaur while Ron is gone. His name is Firenze, and Harry recognizes him from his first year. He is not particularly helpful, but he is nice, and says he won't mention Buckbeak to anyone.

Ron returns. They call Sirius. He comes and fetches Buckbeak. They are congratulated for rescuing Buckbeak and frowned at for not having a place to put him. 

(Harry does not know what Sirius does with Buckbeak. He will find out when he goes home and discovers a Hippogriff in Sirius' mother's bedroom. It's been cleared out to hold him, of course, and Sirius takes him flying frequently. Sirius is still trying to find a proper home for Buckbeak that won't ask where he came from.)

The end of year draws nearer. The Gryffindor team beats Slytherin and wins the Quidditch Cup. Harry is delighted. 

In the last week of school, Snape lets it slip that Professor Lupin is a werewolf. 

Harry sets out to do damage control. 

The first step is convincing Remus not to resign. He is only partially successful, and manages to get him to agree to wait a few days. 

The next step is working on the students. He gets Ron to start spreading rumors that if Professor Lupin leaves, they plan to bring Lockheart back. He gets Hermione to write up an informational pamphlet that almost everyone ignores. He gets Fred and George to fill the Potions classroom with slime (it doesn't do anything, but it's nice to see Snape so furious.)

Harry tells everyone that Remus doesn't even spend full moons at the castle anyway, so what's the big deal?

Letters from parents do start arriving, demanding he be removed, but so do a few positive ones, from parents who want their children to get a good education. 

Remus remains the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Harry makes sure he doesn't quit.

The last day of school arrives. Harry gets on a train. Only Ron, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius know that he isn't going to the Dursleys. Hermione and Ron promise to send him copies of any post they get from the school, since the Hogwarts owls seem to still think he lives at the Dursleys. 

Harry goes home for the summer. 

Sirius greets him at the station as Padfoot, because they don't want anyone to know Harry isn't going to the Dursleys. 

(To Sirius' great disappointment, one result of the trial was that he is now a registered Animagus, but he still sticks out a lot less as a dog.) 

Sirius is mostly done with his improvements to Grimmauld Place by now, especially because he can now openly go out and buy things in Diagon Alley. 

There's a disturbing amount of stuff in the attic. The basement door remains locked. The library had been looked over by Remus a little bit after the full moons he spent at Grimmauld Place, but he didn't have much time and mostly just confirmed that several things in there would kill you. There's still a hole in the wall where Walburga's portrait used to be and Regulus' old room still needs going through, but everywhere else almost seems like a normal house.

Harry's favorite change is definitely the addition of a Hippogriff, though they really need to find a place for Buckbeak where he has more room. He also greatly appreciates that the dining room is no longer booby trapped, even if he and Sirius never eat in there. 

All in all, the first two months of Harry's summer go quite well. Sirius teaches Harry as much of the magic from the Marauders Map as he can remember, and Harry spends some time practicing those. Harry can do magic whenever he wants, which he thinks is awesome. 

Remus visits for the full moon still (though Harry stays in his room the whole night just for everyone's peace of mind). Sirius manages to convince Remus to stick around for a few days, and he sorts out the library a bit more. Harry schemes to get stories about the Marauders from both of them at once (it's always more fun when they argue about what really happened).

Harry also convinces Remus to teach him how to cast a patronus, as even his brief encounter with one on the train left has stuck with him for months. 

For his birthday, Sirius gets him a Firebolt and Remus owls him copies of Lily's two favorite books. Ron and Hermione visit as well. Hermione sets out to befriend Kreacher, which does not start out very successfully. Ron passes on the news that the Weasleys are inviting Hermione and Harry and Sirius to come to the Quidditch World Cup final with them, which works out nicely because Sirius was planning to take Harry there anyway.

In the days before the World Cup final, Harry has a nightmare about Voldemort and wakes up with his scar hurting. He tells Sirius, who is clearly concerned, but there's really nothing he can do. 

The Quidditch World Cup starts out fun. Harry gets to meet Bill and Charlie and watch as Mrs. Weasley freaks out over Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. 

He also gets to take a portkey for the first time. They run into Cedric Diggory and his dad, who are both perfectly nice, even if Amos Diggory does seem a little excitable.

The campground is cool, and all the wizards dressed as muggles are fun to watch. Ludo Bagman comes around and Fred and George bet all their savings to Ludo Bagman, which Harry thinks is an interesting choice. 

The game is great too, even if the house elf named Winky sitting on the other side of Sirius is acting strangely. (Of course Winky doesn't steal Sirius' wand, that would be silly. He's already had one wand taken from him, and it took him 12 years to get a new one. He keeps track of it.) Ron drools over the Veela, Viktor Krum is impressive, and Fred and George win their bet. 

Afterwards is when things turn bad. Death Eaters show up, and the adults go to confront them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione get separated from the twins and Ginny in the woods.

Someone casts a spell. And there is a snake in the sky. Harry is having a very very bad day. 

Ministry officials show up, shooting stunning spells. They find no one and are thoroughly rude to Harry, Hermione, and Ron. 

Harry learns what the Dark Mark is. He would really rather have not. 

The next day he also learns who Rita Skeeter is, which is also something he would have liked to remain ignorant about. 

Then it's off to Hogwarts. 

Draco is horrid on the train, but that's nothing new. 

What is new is the Triwizard Tournament, but right now Harry is mostly just upset they cancelled Quidditch. 

Harry has a Plan for this year. He wants to get Snape fired. Harry may know almost nothing about his views in terms of the Death Eaters, but he thinks that that man should not be teaching children under any circumstances.

This Plan becomes less of a focus when he gets picked for the Triwizard Tournament as a fourth champion. Sometimes Harry thinks he would really rather have a normal year at Hogwarts. He's tired. 

Sirius sends Dumbledore a howler, but it doesn't come to the dining hall, and Harry sadly never finds out what it says.

One bright point is that Harry finally figures out a way to remove Wormtail as an author of the Marauders Map. He brings his idea to Remus to check it over, and eventually casts the spell. When the Map unfolds, it shows only Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs, and Harry feels just a little bit better.

Peter is in Azkaban, where he should be, but it's nice to have one less reminder of him hanging around. 

Another source of almost unendless amusement is Fred and George's Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. They somehow still have production going, despite being cheated out of their winnings by Bagman and have a variety of products circulating Hogwarts.

(Ludo Bagman has been around, presumably doing things for the Tournament, but neither Fred nor George can get a word with him. Bagman doesn't talk to anyone, really, he seems to be going out of his way to avoid it. Harry wonders how many people he made bets with.)

Harry meets Rita Skeeter during the wand weighing. Literally the only good thing about this is that he gets out of potions class.

(He has started keeping track of all the not good things Snape does or says to students in class and the list is too long.)

She interviews him and writes down exactly none of what he said. His net emotion when the article is published is rage. The article also does not help convince Ron that he didn't enter the tournament on purpose. 

Harry somehow survives the first task. Cheating was rampant, and Harry was able to practice his summoning charm ahead of time, thanks to advice from Remus and Hermione. Sirius comes and cheers him on, of course. Harry even gets a cool dragon figurine out of it. (He names it Norberta the Second). He also helps Cedric by telling him what the task is ahead of time, and Cedric is still really (almost unrealistically) nice. 

(Harry got the midnight dragon tour with Hagrid. The best part was getting to watch Hagrid awkwardly flirt with Madame Maxine from Beauxbatons. It almost makes up for the horror of having to deal with Blast-Ended Skrewts in Care of Magical Creatures.)

The best part is that Ron is talking to him again, which means they can figure out the Yule Ball mess together. Harry tries asking Cho, a Ravenclaw girl who has always been nice to him, to the dance, but she's already going with Cedric. 

(This makes Harry feel weird to hear. He thinks he's jealous of both of them?) 

He and Ron end up taking Parvati and Lavender respectively. Neither Ron nor Harry want to dance, though, so he isn't shocked when Lavender and Parvati ditch them. He is surprised when they start dancing with each other, and Harry is even more surprised when he sees them kissing in the gardens later. He does get over the surprise quickly and is happy for them. 

He and Ron sit together and make jokes about the people dancing. Harry very politely does not point out how obviously jealous Ron is of Krum dancing with Hermione. He's a good friend like that.

Hagrid is somewhat awkwardly leading Madame Maxime in a waltz. Neville and Luna look amazing together, with Neville being a surprisingly skilled dancer and Luna looking positively ethereal in her dress.

Harry also talks to Ginny a bit, who is going with some 4th year Hufflepuff. 

Somehow Lee Jordan convinces Professor Mcgonagall to take a spin around the hall with him, to the amusement of many. Snape looms menacingly in the corner for the entire night, and Harry and Ron decide to start a rumor that he fancies Professor Mcgonagall. 

All in all, the evening is fairly enjoyable.

In the weeks leading up to the second task, Rita Skeeter decides to be a horrible person, this time to Hagrid. Ludo Bagman also offers to help Harry cheat during the tournament, which he declines. 

Harry also survives the second task! As a bonus he even gets to steal from Snape. He gets a clue from Cedric as thanks for the first task information, and Neville, who knows just about every magical plant, provides Gillyweed, freshly liberated from Snape's supply closet. The water in the Black Lake is unpleasant, but manageable, and Harry reaches the people held at the bottom of the lake first. He waits until all the others come, because he refuses to leave his friends behind. 

Fleur reaches her sister at the last minute, and they head to the surface together. She thanks him for waiting and says it means a lot to her that he cared enough about her sister to make sure she would be safe. They watch the scores be unveiled together. Fleur is pretty cool.

Somehow Harry comes second in the second task, putting him in first place overall. He's happy the second task is over, until he sees what they've done to the Quidditch pitch. Then he's outraged.

He gets some coaching from Remus in his free time on common defensive spells he might need for that sort of maze. (And it is Remus now, after a conversation that went like "Harry, you can call me Remus when we aren't in class. Heaven knows what Sirius told you to say." "Uncle Moony, actually, but I figured you'd rather I not.")

Rita Skeeter continues being horrible, which is very confusing, because she was only allowed onto Hogwarts the one time and has since been banned. 

Hermione founds the house elf liberation front, and to support a friend (and because he also doesn't have much to do) Harry joins her in her endeavors. For some reason Hermione insists on writing letters to Kreacher, who she is determined to befriend.

Sometimes when Harry speaks to Sirius with the mirror, he gets an update on what happens to the letters. The last three have all been incinerated, though Sirius doesn't know if Kreacher reads them first. 

The day of the third task is gloomy with a chance of rain. Perfect!

Harry gets to go in first. Yay.

There are Blast-Ended Skrewts, now grown to the size of a large cow (or a small elephant). How delightful. 

Krum has been imperiused to attack him? Ideal. 

He reaches the cup at the center of the maze at the same time as Cedric. They reach for it together and end up in a graveyard.

"What the hell." says Harry.

"It must have been a Portkey!" says Cedric.

"Kill the spare." says a very creepy voice from next to a bubbling cauldron. 

"Which one is the spare?" says a house elf, also next to the bubbling cauldron, and holding what looks like a baby. 

The house elf looks slightly familiar to Harry. "Are you Winky?" asks Harry, who barely remembers her. "You are! you're Winky the house elf! Why do you have a baby?"

Cedric tugs on Harry's sleeve and nods his head back to where the cup lies. 

"Enough of this", says the baby, which is apparently the source of the creepy voice. "Restrain them!"

Winky leaps to do so, dropping the baby in the process. 

"You dare drop the Dark Lord!" yells the baby.

Cedric and Harry run for it. 

"Accio Cup" yells Cedric, who is not quite ready to deal with the whole Dark Lord thing, but is still quite good in a crisis.

They land in a heap outside of the maze. 

"The Cup was a Portkey!" is Cedric's contribution to the situation.

"Voldemort is a creepy baby being carried around by a houself," gasps Harry.

"Yeah," says Cedric, "It was messed up".

They are both of the opinion that this was Not worth destroying the Quidditch pitch over.

A slight amount of pandemonium ensues. Amos Diggory and Sirius both rush down the stands to get to Harry and Cedric. 

Before they get there, Ludo Bagman tries to grab Harry and take him somewhere else. Cedric punches him. Cedric is at the end of his rope, because Voldemort! Was! A! Creepy! Baby! It's a lot to deal with!

They drag the boys and Bagman (now unconscious) off to the hospital wing. This turns out to be a poor choice when Bagman somewhat disturbingly morphs into a Death Eater when the polyjuice potion he has apparently been taking wears off.

Said Death Eater turns out to be a crazed Death Eater, raving about the return of Voldemort. He is quickly subdued. Madam Pomfrey might have been a tad bit overzealous in her application of a deep sleep potion, so he won't wake up for hours. (The real Ludo Bagman is found stuffed in a cupboard in his own home. He still does not pay Fred and George the money he owes them.)

Harry and Cedric relay everything about the time in the graveyard, though not much happened, really. Everyone listening is various degrees of unnerved or concerned. 

(Dumbledore thinks that Harry must have been an ingredient for the potion somehow, which is honestly so gross.)

The two of them are declared joint Triwizard Champions and split the winnings. 

(In a field far away, the twisted Voldemort baby creature dies. That body was never meant to survive very long anyway, and Voldemort is returned to his noncorporeal form. He's a little upset about this, and swears revenge. Winky the house elf apologizes profusely, but it really isn't her fault, and she doesn't have to listen to him anyway.)

Final exams are boring after that.

There is one small complication at the end of the year. Harry gets called into Dumbledore's office. 

His address has apparently finally changed to unlisted in the schools records (or maybe they are just now noticing).

Harry is asked politely to explain this. Harry explains that he no longer lives with the Dursleys, and that he lives with his legal guardian now. 

Dumbledore asks him where. Harry declines to say. 

"You left me with the Dursleys, Professor. Forgive me if I don't feel inclined to share."

"It was for your own safety, Harry, you are the most protected from Voldemort there. You really should go back."

"There's more than one way to not be safe, Professor," says Harry. "This is where I'm going, and this is where my parents would want me to be."

And that is that. Dumbledore does call Sirius in to scold him, which Sirius takes exactly none of. 

Harry still doesn't tell Dumbledore where he lives. He's a little bitter. (He can finally officially go to Hogsmeade, though!)

On the train home, Harry corners Fred and George and gives them his half of the tournament prize. They are appropriately appreciative. Harry asks for free samples of the stuff they make, which is promised unreservedly. 

Harry also says he might want to meet up over the summer, as there's someone he wants to introduce them to. He'll let them know later, though.

Also on the train, Hermione catches and blackmails a beetle that turns out to be Rita Skeeter. They are all very proud of Hermione.

Sirius meets him at Kings Cross as usual, human shaped this time. Harry gets a hug and an annoying ruffle of his hair and goes home. 

It's a very eventful summer for Harry. 

One of the first things Harry asks Sirius is "Hey, can we have Fred and George Weasley over? I think you'd really get along." The answer is, of course, yes. 

Harry shows up at the Burrow one day in early July, spends an hour or two playing Quidditch in the backyard with Ron, and then lets Fred and George in on the secret of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry tells them to bring as many of their joke shop products as they can. 

They floo back. It's a few days after the full moon, so Remus is around as well. Sirius got him to agree to stay for a full week this time. He plans on winning him over with home cooked meals. The only problem is that Sirius cannot cook, but he is trying. (Harry is this close to sending him off to Molly Weasley to see if she can make him better somehow.)

"Hey Harry," asks George (Harry thinks), did you know there's a professor on your couch?"

Said professor lowers his book, and looks questioningly at Harry. 

"Yes I know," says Harry, "He's supposed to be there." Remus quirks up an eyebrow at that. "Fred, George, just wait here a minute, I have to go find Sirius. Don't set off any explosions until I get back."

Remus' book has by this point been totally set aside. "He's upstairs, Harry."

Sirius is upstairs. 

"Fred and George are here. They'll want to meet you just because of the Marauders Map, but I thought you might also consider investing in their business. It's really your sort of thing."

"Alright," says Sirius, putting aside Buckbeak's food bowl. (Buckbeak still lives in Walburga's old bedroom. He really needs a new home.)

"Fred, George," says Harry, returning to the sitting room, "this would be Padfoot and Moony."

"Hello Weasleys", says Sirius, crashing down next to Remus on the couch. "We're investing in your business!"

("We are?" asks Remus bemusedly.

"Yes, shh.")

To their credit, Fred and George only freak out a little bit. 

"Why don't you show us what you've got?" finishes Sirius.

They do. Even Harry, who has already seen most of their stock, is impressed. 

Sirius thinks that it's absolutely brilliant. (Remus does too, he just doesn't say it.)

"They need a place to work on their inventions too before they finalize a storefront," says Harry.

"They can work here! We can finally-" Sirius shudders "-clean out the basement."

Harry does not want to clean out the basement. The basement genuinely scares him, but Fred and George say they'll come over and do it, and an agreement is reached. 

They leave with the remaining Marauders as a silent partner and a good deal more gold then they arrived with. Sirius really can't think of a better use for the Balck family fortune then something they would have hated as much as this, and honestly it doesn't even make a dent. 

Remus really did just sit there and watch in amusement, but Sirius ended up throwing money at Fred and George in both their names and now he has a stake in a joke shop. Eh. Weirder things have happened, and the joke shop is going to do very well, he can tell. He's not going to stress about it. 

Fred and George do come back several days later and clean out the basement. It is nightmarish. About half the things simply get relocated to the attic. About a quarter actively try to kill, harm, maim, or poison them, and the rest is boring stuff. 

(During the process they find that the boggart in the attic has multiplied, so Sirius separates them and shoves them into two separate locked containers. )

They set up proper fire and soundproofing. Fred and George spend a lot of time in the basement after that, though the soundproofing is good enough that often Sirius or Harry don't even notice that they're there. Sometimes they bring Ron or Ginny along, and they just hang out with Harry for a bit.

At the end of July, Harry gets his first every proper Birthday Party. Sirius makes him special occasion pancakes (by himself! And they only turn out a little burnt!)

In the afternoon, Hermione, Remus, Ron, and a variety of other Weasleys visit. Harry lets Molly, Arthur, and Ginny in on the secret, so they and Fred and George visit. too. 

There is cake and a reasonable number of presents, and all is good. 

Harry spends a good chunk of time chatting with Ginny about Quidditch. She has an impressive knowledge of all the teams and their standings, and Harry learns that she aims to be a chaser on the team next year.

Afterwards, Sirius and Remus offer to help him put his name on the Marauders Map if he wants.

("It really does look better with four, you know, it uses up the space more evenly.)

He does.

("Since you don't have an Animagus form, I hereby dub you Prongslet, to properly recognize your heritage."

"Sirius…"

"Too late, you're the Prongslet. You'll have to live with it."

Harry doesn't really mind.)

His own spidery handwriting scrawls out the name on the front of the map next time he opens it. He has also been informed that he will insult other people from within the Map with the rest of them. 

Something about what Sirius had said sticks with him, though. 

"Would you be willing to help me become an Animagus?" questions Harry to Sirius a week later. Enough people have tried to kill him in the past few years that he really sees the appeal of being able to hide. 

"Of course," is the answer Harry gets, and honestly should have expected. "But we don't have enough time left before school starts. You read up on it over the school year, and I'll help you with it next summer. I can help with the potion too, James and I made it 5th year, and I've been brushing up on my potions knowledge lately anyway."

In the first week of August, Harry makes one of the most important discoveries of his life. He snoops around in Regulus Black's bedroom and finds his journal. This has Consequences. 

He reads it all the day he finds it, because he was looking for something to do anyway, but when he reaches the end he races to find Sirius. 

"Have you ever heard of a Horcrux, Sirius?"

Sirius looks at him.

Harry shoves the book into his hands. "You need to read this, now!"

Sirius does.

He then floos to Dumbledore, who immediately understands the importance of this information. 

"Do you know where the locket is?"

"Kreacher probably still has it."

"Did you know about the Horcruxes?" asks Sirius. 

"I had suspected," says Dumbledore, and pulls out the diary of Tom Riddle.

Back at Grimmauld place, Harry is still reeling. He just learned that Regulus Black had been working against Voldemort, and had knowingly gone to what he believed would be his death to steal a piece of Voldemort's soul.

Then he gathers his wits about him and goes to talk to Kreacher. Kreacher is not happy to see him, but he doesn't mind talking about Regulus, who it would seem he adored. 

Harry asks for the locket, and says he can destroy it, as Regulus wished. Kreacher fetches it from where it had been stuffed in the attic and very reluctantly hands it over. It feels evil. 

He then follows Sirius to Dumbledore's office. 

(Half an hour later, Fred and George will emerge from the basement, wonder where everyone is, shrug, and go home.)

The fireplace flares up, and Harry tumbles out, holding a locket and disrupting what looks like a very intense discussion. 

He holds it aloft. "This was in the attic. Kreacher helped me get it."

"He knows?" exclaims Dumbledore.

"Of course," says Sirius, "He found Regulus' notes."

"What do I do with the piece of Voldemort's soul?" is slightly more important to Harry at this exact moment. 

"Give it here," says Dumbledore. The locket is set on the table. A sword is pulled from its case. There is a god awful screeching, and the locket becomes a smoking, twisted hunk of metal. 

Dumbledore explains about the sword and it's absorbed basilisk venom. Then he sends them back home, because apparently he doesn't feel like sharing more.

Harry brings the mangled locket back to give to Kreacher. Kreacher cries. Harry bolts. 

That night, Harry has the first nightmare he's had for a while. He dreams he is a snake, frustrated, in the middle of a desert. It isn't actually that unenjoyable, but there's a distinctly Voldemort-y feel to it, and Harry wakes up with his scar hurting. 

It is an unpleasant experience. 

Sirius gets called back to Dumbledore's office a few days later, as Dumbledore has apparently deigned to share a bit more information. 

Dumbledore says he expects that Voldemort has more Horcruxes, and that Horace Slughorn might know more about how he found out. 

Slughorn gave Dumbledore an altered memory of such a question. Dumbledore asks Sirius to get that information, if he is so inclined. 

Sirius also has a suggestion for Dumbledore. 

"Hasn't Mad-Eye Moody been bored recently? You might want to consider sending him to look for the Horcruxes. A bored Mad-Eye is a very bad thing to have, in my opinion."

(Two days later, Mad-Eye Moody is contacted by Dumbledore and starts Horcrux hunting. He brings Tonks along and they make a vacation of it. A few months from now, Tonks will break into Gringotts, steal a cup, and free a dragon. She will then meet Charlie Weasley. Tonks will gain a friend for life. Two, if you count the dragon.)

Most of August passes in a rush after that. Sirius spends a lot of time plotting how to win over Slughorn, and Harry reads up on defensive spells and the process of becoming an Animagus. 

Fred and George blow up things in the basement. 

He has Hermione over to visit before the start of the school year. Kreacher, who has been almost nice recently, doesn't call her any slurs at all. It's kind of weird. (Good, of course. But weird.)

The first day of school comes too soon. Harry is not excited to see what Hogwarts throws at him this year. He is glad that Quidditch is back, though, and that he finally has a signed Hogsmeade form. 

The welcome feast is as delicious as always. 

The staff table has a new addition sitting next to Remus. She's dressed in a hideous shade of pink and is clearly trying to be as far away as possible from Remus. 

At the end, Dumbledore stands and gives a speech like always. He reminds them about the forbidden forest being deadly and then...

"I would like to introduce Dolores Umbridge. She is here in an evaluative capacity from the Ministry and will be an adjunct professor for the new, Ministry mandated course Wizarding Comportment."

Umbridge interrupts Dumbledore. Harry is almost impressed by the audacity. Then she spews a load of bullshit about the ministry's lack of faith in Hogwarts due to incidents in recent years. 

(Harry thinks she might be forgetting that a department the Ministry was managing the Triwizard Tournament when that mess went down. He also distinctly remembers the Ministry thinking it was a good idea to put a bunch of soul sucking monsters at a school for children in his third year.)

She also claims that the supposed sighting of Voldemort in a weak form was the product of delusional children and should not have been given as much weight as Dumbledore did. Because of this, the Ministry is invested in evaluating his capabilities in running a school of impressionable young wizards.

Harry is so not looking forward to his first wizarding comportment class. He bets Cedric isn't either. 

On the fourth day of school, Harry quietly approaches Hagrid and asks if there's any way Buckbeak can rejoin the Hippogriff herd, maybe under an assumed name or something.

"What?" says Hagrid, and Harry realizes he never actually told Hagrid what happened to Buckbeak.

"Oh, Ron, Hermione, and I stole him like a year and a half ago, before his execution. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, but he really needs a place to stay. He doesn't get out nearly enough."

Hagrid is delighted. Buckbeak is flown back in the middle of the night by Sirius, and becomes Witherwings.

Wizarding Comportment is awful. Umbridge stresses the way that they should be handling themselves in a way that is just diet pureblood supremacy rhetoric. 

Harry gets detention and is ordered to report to her office. Umbridge turns red when Hermione reminds her that according to Hogwarts regulations, adjunct professors can only assign students detention to be completed with their Head of House, and cannot oversee detention themselves. 

Harry spends an hour making small talk with Professor Mcgonagall.

(On the other side of the country, Sirius is successfully blackmailing Horace Slughorn into surrendering his memory of a conversation with Tom Riddle.)

In the third week of school, Umbridge starts assessing professors. For the first time ever, Harry has an enjoyable time in Potions. (Though he does kind of hope she'll sack Snape and make Harry's work easier.)

Transfiguration is also highly amusing. Professor Mcgonagall is thoroughly badass, and Umbridge cannot find a foothold anywhere. 

Umbridge really has it out for Hagrid, Professor Trelawney, and Remus. Harry is especially worried for Remus, who is still receiving at least weekly complaints despite being one of almost everyone's favorite teachers.

Hagrid gives a riveting lesson of Flobberworms when assessed, and when asked about Witherwings responds with "That's an easy mistake to make. Witherwings here clearly has more red in his feathers, and the tail is all wrong."

Professor Trelawney predicts Umbridge's doom, which doesn't appear to bother her much.

Remus begins teaching them how to cast a Patronus, and resolutely ignores Umbridge's comments on the value of providing practical defense experience. 

A week from then, Umbridge receives the position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor. 

Within two weeks, the Inquisitorial squad had been formed, giving many students way too much power.

By week five, there were at least 35 Educational Decrees in action, including the notorious Decree 31, prohibiting boys and girls from being within 8 inches of each other. 

(After that proclamation, Luna and Ginny decide to kiss on the bench outside Umbridge's office. She throws a fit, and thus Decree 32 is created.)

Talking to Sirius one night, he describes her as absolutely batshit crazy. "It's like she's trying to take over the school!"

"The Ministry is scared. They don't like the idea that Voldemort could be gaining strength, and they don't like that he got close to coming back. And they're scared of Dumbledore. For all his faults, he is a very powerful man."

(Somewhere in London, Mad-Eye Moody destroys Helga Huffelpuff's cup. Tonks is still off befriending a dragon.)

In the middle of November, Umbridge sacks Professor Trelawney. Dumbledore lets her stay in the castle and appoints a centaur to replace her. 

At the end of November, Hagrid narrowly escapes apprehension by a squad of Aurors, and Professor Mcgonagall gets stunned 4 times simultaneously. Professor Grubbly-Plank returns to teach Care of Magical Creatures. 

At the beginning of December, Remus is summarily told to leave. Dumbledore offers to let him stay in the castle as well, but Remua declines. 

Harry goes to speak with him before he leaves. 

"I know this was coming, Harry, I'd have been a fool not to."

"What will you do?"

"I imagine I'll join Sirius in Horcrux hunting."

(Of course Sirius told him.)

"What about the Wolfsbane Potion? Don't you need it?"

"Sirius assures me his brewing is up to it. I hear he's been practicing. And thanks to the Weasleys, you have quite the potions setup in your basement. I have faith in his potion abilities"

Harry frowns. "I'll be seeing you at Christmas, right?"

"If that's an invitation, then yes, I'll be there."

"You mean Sirius hasn't invited you yet? Consider me shocked. And yes, be there."

With that, Umbridge becomes Professor Umbridge of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It feels like a bad omen to Harry.

(In a cave by the beach, Sirius discovers his brother's final resting place and finally allows himself to mourn his brother.)

Umbridge bans Fred, George and Harry from the Quidditch team, much to Angelina Johnson's chagrin. 

Umbridge can also finally oversee detentions, which Harry is brutally reminded of after Umbridge's first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

(By now Harry can think "what would my parents do?" and come up with an answer. It's too bad for Umbridge that the answer to what James would do is usually something extreme. )

Having lines carved into his hand and writing in his own blood is not Harry's idea of a fun evening. 

Fred and George apparently reach their limit to the amount of Umbridge they can handle and leave with a bang a few days before Christmas break starts. Literally. The fireworks don't stop going off for hours, the corridor on the third floor leading to the defense classroom is a swamp (that, mysteriously, Professor Flitwick has no idea how to fix) and at least another dozen surprises are left throughout the castle. 

They tell Peeves to give Umbridge hell and announce the opening of their shop in Diagon Alley and drop out of school. Harry is impressed.

(In a shack in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Remus and Sirius discover the ring of Marvolo Gaunt. Neither of them put it on, that would be silly. They do stab it, though.)

Harry has never been happier to go home for Christmas. 

He spends Christmas break with Sirius and Remus at Grimmauld place. On Christmas morning Sirius makes pancakes. They're still slightly burnt. 

For Christmas, Harry gets an annoying reminder book from Hermione and a giant collection of Every Flavor beans from Ron. Mrs. Weasley gives him a jumper and food, as always, and the twins give him one of their sample, still in production, swamp-in-a-bottles. (Inspired, of course, by the one outside Umbridge's classroom.) Sirius and Remus give him a set of really great books called Practical Defensive Magic and its use Against the Dark Arts.

Harry gives everyone appropriately cool gifts in return. 

Two days before the train leaves, Sirius notices the scar of "I will not tell lies" on the back of Harry's hand. He was already mad, but now he absolutely flips his lid. 

He goes nuclear. He goes to the Wizangamot, not as the guardian of a student, but as Lord Black representing his heir. 

Harry, faced with the sudden knowledge of just how fucking illegal Blood Quills are and how big of a deal it is that Umbridge is regularly using them on students (Harry has had multiple detentions by now and will probably carry that scar for life), tells Hermione to call in Rita Skeeter. 

The article (carefully looked over by Hermione before publication) makes the front page of the Daily Prophet. 

The Ministry has no choice but to act. Back at Hogwarts, the Aurors come for her on January 4th.

She runs.

Directly into the Forbidden Forest.

Harry winces. He could have told her that was a bad idea. 

They do eventually retrieve her from the centaurs, who she apparently said some unwise things to. 

Hagrid and Remus return, to great appreciation. Even those students who dislike Remus have gained a little perspective from a defense class taught by Umbridge. 

Trelawney is also partially reinstated. Much to her chagrin, she now shares class with Firenze, who is no longer accepted by the other centaurs.

(Remus and Flitwick clear up the swamp in no time at all. 

Harry finds it a shame to remove such a pleasant reminder and finds this a perfect occasion to use his swamp-in-a-bottle.

Remus knows it was him. Harry knows Remus knows it was him. He was there when Harry got the gift!

Still, Remus must be feeling somewhat obliging, or else he just understands the hatred Umbridge inspired, because this time he and Flitwick only clear a path through the swamp.)

School goes on as usual. Harry gets back on the Quidditch team, though he shares the Seeker position with Ginny. (They each play a game as a Beater, just for fun and because Angelina has only found one replacement for Fred and George.)

At some point in January, Tonks shows up at Hogwarts and starts interrogating the ghosts. Harry hangs out with her a bit and finds her really cool. 

Tonks gets a hint from one of the ghosts she talks to and together they find the Room of Requirement and with it the Room of Hidden Things. 

(It takes Tonks a few days of searching, but she finds and destroys Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, and with it the fifth Horcrux.)

The rest of the school year is almost normal. Sure, there's the looming shadow of whether or not Voldemort might return at any time, and there's an incident with the Great Squid (Harry swears he had nothing to do with it. He lies.) But the whole thing is still fairly normal. 

Harry has a meeting about his future with Professor Mcgonagall. Harry has no clue what he wants to do with his life and says as much. He does know he wants to drop Divination, though. 

With five of the Horcruxes dealt with, Dumbledore confides in Sirius what he believes the remaining two are: Nagini, Voldemort's snake, and Harry himself. Sirius promises not to tell Harry. 

He immediately tells Harry. He also finally tells Harry what he knows of the prophecy that led to Voldemort targeting him. 

Harry immediately goes to Dumbledore and demands to know what the whole prophecy said. Dumbledore sends Sirius a strongly worded letter and shows Harry his memory of the prophecy. Harry is relatively maudlin after that.

Then he learns that Snape was the one who told Voldemort of the prophecy that targeted his parents and he turns straight up livid. He hadn't even known Snape was a Death Eater!

Harry storms out of Dumbledore's office, calls up Sirius straight away and has a very fraught conversation about how Dumbledore expects him to die and oh, by the way, did you know Snape was a Death Eater! 

Sirius is worried, to say the least. He advises Harry to start the Animagus process before school ends, as it takes a month and then a lightning storm to complete.

"I want you to have every advantage you can against Voldemort. The first part involves holding a Mandrake leaf in your mouth for a month, and you can start that in the month before school ends."

Harry does. It tastes awful but he's not really sure what he expected. Hiding it is tricky, and it takes him a few days to figure out how to properly talk with the leaf in his mouth. Hermione and Ron help cover for him, of course.

(Professor Mcgonagall has to have noticed, but she doesn't say anything.)

Harry takes his OWLs like that. Somehow he still gets very good grades, except in Potions and Divination. 

A few days before the horrible Mandrake leaf month is over, Harry is on the train back to London. He's glad to be home.

(On the other side of the world, in the middle of a desert, a long forgotten blood ritual is performed somewhat clumsily by a houself, who is really rather tired of the Dark Lord by now. Voldemort resumes human form and very seriously considers killing Winky the house elf. Sensing the danger, Winky apperates away and goes on to live a very long and happy life in St. Petersburg.)

Remus stays at Grimmauld place for the summer. The empty room on the third floor that has been acknowledged as his for more than a year is now actually his. It only took Sirius like three straight months of convincing.

He also learns something about the house that he, apparently, had not been privy to before now.

"You have how many boggarts in the attic!?!"

"I think it's probably four by now, right Harry?"

"Five, wasn't it?"

Remus deals with that. 

He also finally finishes sorting out the library and puts very strong locks on a pair of bookshelves. One of them holds the books likely to grievously harm you. The other holds the books that tell you how to grievously harm other people. Many of the other books are somewhat questionable, but there's no doubting that there is a trove of knowledge in this house.

Harry's Mandrake month ends on the night of the full moon. Under the moonlight he finally, finally spits out the Mandrake leaf. 

(Sirius keeps him company. Remus spends a few hours sleeping in front of the fireplace in the sitting room.)

He's been reading up on the theory all year so he knows what comes next. The potion is quickly prepared in a vial and stored away safely. 

For the days until the next lightning storm, Harry gets up at sunrise and and sundown without fail to say an incantation. 

(Privately Harry thinks Amato Animo Animato Animagus sounds a little silly, but he still says the words with reverence.)

When the storm comes, shortly before his 16th birthday, Harry finds himself in a field with Remus and Sirius, vial in his hand and his heart in his throat.

He drinks the potion, spreads wings, and flies. 

The next day he learns that he becomes a snowy owl and looks quite like Hedwig. Sirius tells Harry he's proud of him. 

(Somewhere in France, Voldemort is rallying former Death Eaters. Harry dreams of being Nagini again.)

Harry spends a lot of time trying not to think about the bit of Voldemort that he is apparently carrying around with him. 

Harry has his 16th birthday party at the Burrow. All the Weasleys, Hermione, Remus, and Sirius are there, of course. Luna, Neville, and Cedric are there too. Mad-Eye and Tonks come to hang out, and Professor Mcgonagall, who has business with Mad-Eye, shows up near the end of the afternoon. She wishes Harry a happy birthday, of course.

(Harry is truly delighted that he can honestly say that Professor Mcgonagall came to his birthday party.)

Harry is outside with Sirius and Professor Mcgonagall when the Death Eaters show up, Voldemort at their head. 

The Burrow bursts into flames. Someone screams. (This is Percy. Errol spooked and flew into his face.) 

The yard fills with spells. Someone shouts expelliarmus, and Harry’s wand goes flying. 

For the fifth time in his life, Harry finds himself face to face with Voldemort. 

“Avada Kedavra,” says that cruel voice. 

“No!” screams Sirius. 

A green light flashes and Harry dies. 

Sirius rushes forward, but a curse from one of the other Death Eaters sends him crashing to the ground like a ragdoll, his wand slipping from his hand.

Minerva Mcgonagall faces the Dark Lord (and his snake). Harry Potter is dead two feet to her left. She is enraged. She is furious. She wants Voldemort dead with all the fury and power in her heart. And there is a lot of power in her heart. 

Minerva Mcgonagall summons Fiendfyre and explodes that fucking snake. 

Harry wakes up at a train station, with Sirius' shout echoing in his ears. So this is what death looks like. 

His parents are waiting for him. 

They hold him as tight as they can and tell him they could not be more proud of him. They tell him that they love him so, so, much. 

They tell him he is free from Voldemort's soul now.

They tell him that he can rest now, if he wants to. 

They tell him he can go back if he wants to. 

In the end the decision is easy.

His mother kisses his forehead. His father ruffles his hair. They both have tears in their eyes. 

"Thank Sirius and Remus for me," says James with a smile. "They'll know what for."

"It had better be a very long time before I see you back here, young man," says Lily sternly.

Harry walks into the light…

….and wakes up. 

Immediately though, he almost wishes he hadn't. He appears to be covered in snake guts.

To his right, Professor Mcgonagall is forcing vicious orange flames back into nonexistence. To his left, Sirius is just barely coming back to consciousness, and is losing an alarming amount of blood. Harry’s wand is nowhere to be seen, and all around him his friends are fighting for their lives. 

Also, Voldemort is looming over him. That seems important. 

Harry seizes Sirius' wand from the grass nearby. 

"Remember me?" thinks Harry as hard as he can. "Please work."

Sirius' wand does remember Harry. It also likes Harry, because it remembers how it came to find its home.

It works perfectly. Well, not perfectly. It doesn't do what Harry wants it to, but the idea is the same.

Fine, it blows something up. But since the thing it blows up is Voldemort, Harry is really really okay with that. 

"Thank you," thinks Harry gratefully.

"Nicely done," says Sirius weakly, "can I have my wand back?"

Professor Mcgonagall quickly fixes Sirius so he's no longer losing blood at an alarming rate and summons Harry's wand from where it had landed in the field.

They leap into fighting the remaining Death Eaters.

"By the way, Sirius," asks Professor Mcgonagall as she stuns a burly man (who looks a lot like Crabbe's dad). "Where did you get your wand from? I've never seen one do that before."

"I don't actually know," says Sirius. "Harry?"

"Oh, Jonkers," says Harry somewhat distractedly. He is fighting Death Eaters, after all, and he isn't quite as good at dueling as his godfather or Transfiguration professor. 

Somewhere from inside the house, Harry hears Mad-Eye Moody laughing maniacally. He sees Tonks fighting back to back with Charlie Weasley, and he watches in glee as Remus hexes someone who he is sure is Lucius Malfoy.

In the end the whole thing is over fairly quickly, though it does take a while to make the house be not on fire.

Miraculously, none of Harry's friends have died, or even been seriously hurt, though Charlie does have a nasty looking broken arm. (They also seem to have misplaced the ghoul that lives upstairs.)

By some sort of unspoken consensus, they gather over by the pile of goop and snake intestine that used to be Voldemort. 

"So," says Sirius, poking it with a stick. "We should probably call someone about all this, shouldn't we." He makes a broad gesture that includes the pile of tied up and unconscious Death Eaters.

Harry doesn't know who laughs first, but then he's laughing too. Before long, though, it turns into something more like sobs, and most everyone turns politely away. 

Harry almost can't believe it's really over. Sirius hugs him, and Remus tells him it's okay, and then Harry goes and sits with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny for a while. They just let him be quiet for a time, and they watch as Aurors start showing up. The adults keep them from being bothered. 

"What do I do with my life now?" asks Harry to no one in particular. 

"Whatever the hell you want," answers Ginny.

(Around the other side of the house, Luna, Neville, and Cedric are making quiet conversation. "I think I need to stop hanging out with Harry," says Cedric, who clearly doesn't mean it. "Meeting Voldemort twice is two times too many.")

Later, Harry explains the whole thing so many times he gets sick of it. 

(“Yes, Dumbledore, he was human at the end, I’m sure of it.”)

The last days of summer pass in a kind of limbo. Harry doesn’t know what to do with himself. He spends a lot of time as an owl. 

("You should probably register at some point, now that Voldemort is dead. Trust me, you do not want to end up in Azkaban. Maybe wait until Fudge is gone, though. He's pretty annoying.")

One evening Harry does sit down Remus and Sirius and tell them what James said. 

“Do you know what he was talking about?” 

They exchange a smile. “Yes,” says Remus. “You were the most important thing in his life, Harry. He was thanking us for looking after you.” 

“I’m sorry it took us so long,” adds Sirius. “But I hope you know we aren’t going anywhere.”

Harry does know. But it’s still nice to hear. 

Near the end of summer, Harry pays an unscheduled visit to Dumbledore and subjects him to a lecture. 

“I've seen Voldemort. Repeatedly. A part of him used to live in my head. And yet Snape has had a worse effect on the minds of me and so many other students at this school than the literal Dark Lord. This is a problem! 

Voldemort is dead now. Will you please, please fire Snape? He used to be a Death Eater, for fucks sake. Here is the list of truly awful things he's said to students just in the last month of school! Here's the one from year four! ” 

Harry unrolls about 2 meters of parchment. 

Dumbledore frowns at the list. “I will... take this into consideration.”

“Good.”

“Harry, may I recommend, though, that you perhaps consider your language when speaking to your professors in the future,” says Dumbledore calmly. 

Harry agrees a bit sheepishly and takes his leave. 

During Harry's normal back to school shopping in Diagon Alley, he finally gets to see Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, Fred and George's shop for the first time. It's love at first sight. There are just endless possibilities. 

Harry heads off to school with no plan for the first time in a very long time. All he has to do is figure out what he wants to be after school. 

Harry is met with a pleasant surprise at the welcome feast.

Snape is nowhere to be seen. Instead, a somewhat portly man dressed in green velvet is seated at the head table.

He is introduced as Horace Slughorn. 

(Dumbledore sent Sirius to convince him to come back as a teacher. Sirius enjoyed finding Snape's replacement wholeheartedly.

Later, when Harry talks to Sirius, Sirius asks if he has any good news to report with a smirk on his face. 

"You already knew!" exclaims Harry, outraged.

"I thought it would be a nice surprise! Was I wrong?"

"...No")

The first day of Potions class, the used textbook copy he ends up with is apparently the "property of the Half Blood Prince." It also has plenty of useful tips printed all over the pages. 

He shows it to Remus, who takes one look at the handwriting and laughs until he almost cries. "Of course he gave himself a nickname!"

"What? Whose book is it?"

"That would be Severus Snape's old potions book." 

"You mean he knew how to do all this stuff better and didn't teach any of it?" Harry exclaims. "Seriously?! Wait, the Half Blood Prince? What's that about?"

"I haven't the faintest idea," says Remus, handing the book back. "It can't hurt to look at the potions advice, Snape is very good at what he does, but I would caution you against using any spells you may find in there. He invented some truly nasty ones during his time at Hogwarts."

The next day finds him sitting under a tree by the Black Lake with Hermione and Ron.  
He takes the opportunity to show them his Animagus form, which they are appropriately impressed by. 

He also shows them the book, and they also get a good laugh out of the Half Blood Prince bit. Hermione borrows it to do an in depth analysis of all the potions advice within it. Harry passes on Remus' message about the spells. 

On a bright Saturday in October, Harry (and many of his friends) attend Cedric and Cho's wedding. It's a beautiful ceremony, and they are both practically glowing with happiness. Harry ends up sitting next to Ginny, who is quite good friends with Cho. They quietly exchange jokes throughout the whole ceremony. The whole day goes perfectly. 

Two weeks later, Ginny asks him out on a Hogsmeade date. Harry freezes, and then blurts out yes, and suddenly is thinking about Ginny as someone dateable. 

He's never thought about her as pretty before, but now that he is, he can't unsee it! She's so pretty!

Oh Merlin, he's going to mess this up so badly. 

The day before the date he absolutely does not show up in Remus' office to ask him what in the world one wears on a date and what is he even supposed to do?

(Remus very carefully does not laugh, but hell, does Harry remind him of James right then.)

Harry really shouldn't have worried. It's a lot like hanging out with Ginny before, just he now has unlocked the knowledge of how much he'd quite like to kiss her. It's easy.

They have fun. Harry laughs a lot. He even does some introspection.

("I just have one question, weren't you dating Luna?"

"I was, but we broke up a few months ago. Turns out we work better as friends." She then explains that she's bisexual.

"Huh," says Harry. "I think I might be that too.")

They go their separate ways at the entrance to the great hall, but not before Ginny gives Harry a soft kiss. 

Two minutes later he walks into a door because he's thinking about holding her hand. 

Harry spends most of November mooning over Ginny and desperately trying to find a career path he can focus on. He even voluntarily goes to a career counseling meeting with Professor Mcgonagall. 

He also spends a lot of time working on Quidditch stuff. He's been made captain, as the most senior player. Ron is still on the team from last year, when he made keeper, and Ginny switches positions to now play properly as a chaser, which she prefers. 

He holds tryouts for two new chasers and a beater, and they end up with a pretty good team, he thinks. 

In the week before Christmas break starts, Harry goes flying with Hedwig for the first time. Hedwig seems very happy to see him as an owl. They explore the Forbidden Forest together. 

Also before Christmas break starts, he and Ginny officially become boyfriend and girlfriend, which is exciting. 

(He also has a supremely awkward conversation with Ron, but that turns out okay.)

Harry goes home for Christmas. 

(It would make him immeasurably happy to realize that he hasn't thought about the Dursleys in months.)

Like last year, he spends Christmas day with just Remus and Sirius, and the morning is started with slightly burnt pancakes. 

The day after Christmas, they have people over. With Voldemort well and truly gone, they feel more comfortable with more people knowing where they live. Harry has definitely gotten used to being a Secret Keeper by now. 

Harry tells the rest of the Weasleys where he lives, so Bill, Charlie, and Percy are there too. 

He also told Mad-Eye and Tonks, and they promised to stop by at some point. 

(Professor Mcgonagal, Luna, and Neville know the address too, but they all already had plans.)

Fred and George escape to the basement shortly after arrival. Hermione is quietly conversing with Kreacher in the corner, in what actually appears to be a civil interaction.

(Sirius freed Kreacher after Voldemort died, but Kreacher still mostly just hangs around. Harry doesn't want to know what he does with his days.) 

Harry, Ginny, and Ron are the only ones in the library, and they spend a while talking about Quidditch plans for the next few matches. 

Harry excuses himself to go grab a cup of cocoa and promptly walks in on Remus and Sirius snogging in the kitchen. 

He turns bright red, splutters something and makes a hasty exit back to the library. There he completely fails at anything even remotely resembling effective communication. 

"Breathe, mate, what's wrong?" says Ron. 

"Remus and Sirius. In the kitchen." manages Harry finally. 

Ginny gets it much sooner than Ron does. "What are you talking about, Harry?" says Ron, halfway alarmed now. 

"It's all right, Ron" interjects Ginny. "Harry's just realized his parents are dating and he's freaking out about it."

Ron relaxes immediately. "Oh, is that all? Why are you so worked up about that?"

"It cannot be the gay thing, Harry, you're bisexual, thats not good if it's the gay thing."

"You guys knew?!" shouts Harry. "And of course it's not the gay thing, Ginny, it's the I didn't know thing."

"Harry," says Ron kindly, "it's kinda obvious."

"They give you joint Christmas presents." is Ginny's addition. 

"Harry, you literally told me in 3rd year that you were scheming to make Professor Lupin part of your family." says Ron.

"Did you really!"

“But it was always so difficult to get him to come visit!” says Harry.

“He probably felt like he was intruding or something,” is Ginny, slightly more helpful now. 

"Why would they hide it from me?" says Harry, a little hurt now. 

"Well they weren't exactly subtle." Ron chews loudly on an Every Flavor Bean. 

Harry probably would have fallen into some sort of deep meditation on the subject if it weren't for the knock on the door. A second later Remus steps into the room and softly closes the door behind him 

"Harry-" he starts.

"How long have you two been dating?" Harry interrupts him. 

(Behind him Ginny facepalms. He said it calmly and politely though, which is at least something.)

"About five minutes. Are you-"

"What!?" shouts Ron.

"Really?" says Ginny. "It hasn't been like years?"

"What, no?"

"You give joint Christmas presents!" says Harry (perhaps a bit loudly), who has finally gotten with the program. 

"You live together!" says Ron, who has abandoned the Every Flavor Beans entirely. 

"Hey, what are we shouting about," says Sirius, stepping into the room.

He gets no answer from Remus, who is standing there slightly dumbstruck. 

"We're talking about how you too have obviously been in love for years," says Ginny, who really wishes she had popcorn right now so she could munch on it dramatically right here. 

"Okayyyy," says Sirius, looking around the room before grabbing Remus' sleeve and dragging him back into the sitting room.

Later Harry will tell Remus and Sirius that he's sorry for the shouting that the three of them were doing and that he really is truly happy for them. For now, he, Ron, and Ginny talk about Quidditch for a while longer. 

The second half of Harry's sixth year passes without incident. He spends a lot of time with Ginny. He shows her his Animagus form, which she thinks is awesome. 

He goes flying with Hedwig often, and finally finds out where Fluffy the Cerberus went after third year. He lives in a cave deep in the Forbidden Forest. Fluffy looks quite content.

The school year is over before Harry knows it, and he still doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. 

At the beginning of the summer before 7th year, Amelia Bones is elected Minister for Magic. (She was previously Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement)

As a result, Harry goes and registers as an Animagus. He can't wait to finally have a conversation with Professor Mcgonagall about it. 

Harry also gets an internship at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes for the summer. 

(It's actually less Harry gets an internship and more Harry sends an owl saying "Hey, need anyone to work at the shop this summer?" and immediately gets a reply of yes.)

So he spends his days working at a joke shop. Surprisingly, he really loves it. 

He spends one full moon racing through the woods with Sirius and Remus, which is actually a lot of fun. He's been around on the full moon as an owl before, of course, and Remus keeps his mind and isn't a threat to anyone, but Harry's never spent the full in the woods with them. He is mostly a silent figure in the skies, occasionally swooping down to dive bomb them. 

His 17th birthday is celebrated with great pomp and circumstance, but it very deliberately takes place at Number 12, instead of outside. 

Harry gets a very old watch for his 17th birthday, as is part of wizarding tradition, and he loves it a great deal. He also officially becomes Lord Potter, as he has come of age in the Wizarding World. It doesn't change much. 

Harry's 7th school year starts much like the 16th. It's really normal. Harry could get used to that. 

Harry spends a lot of his weekends with Ginny. He relaxes, embraces being a normal teenager. He even buys a leather jacket, just for fun.

(Ginny laughs at him, but thinks he looks cute in it anyway.)

He tells Professor Mcgonagall that he might want to work with Fred and George after school. (Their exact words were "Don't be boring, there's always a place for you here.")

Minerva is happy for Harry that he's found a path. She remembers looking at a tired child three years ago and thinking, "dear god, will someone just let him rest."

She thinks Harry might get some peace after all.

(Some days, Minerva has lunch with Remus. They spend a good amount of time gossiping.

“A joke shop. You know I know exactly where that boy gets it from, but thank god for your influence, Remus.”

“Well, technically I am a silent partner in that joke shop,” says Remus with a smile 

“You aren't!”

Remus shrugs. “Sirius,” he says, like that explains it. It does.)

In November, Sirius makes an unplanned visit to the school, having finally found out that Hagrid still has his motorbike. Hagrid, who never flies it, is happy to have it taken off his hands. Harry is a little ashamed to admit that he never actually noticed the tarp covered object sitting next to Hagrid’s hut, but hey, he isn’t the most observant. 

Harry visits Fluffy a few more times and wonders if Fluffy and the giant squid would get along. Probably not, right?

Christmas Break of 7th year passes in a blur of family and friends. On Christmas morning, Remus makes the pancakes. They aren’t burnt, not even a little. The day after Christmas, Molly learns that Fred and George spent a large amount of the summer before Harry’s fifth year inventing things in the basement.

She does the in-person equivalent of sending a Howler. 

Harry’s last half year at Hogwarts starts. He spends a great deal of time freaking out about NEWTs, but the rest of the time he spends with his friends and girlfriend. 

Gryffindor wins the Quidditch Cup. 

Before Harry knows it, the school year is over. His final class is Defense Against the Dark Arts. Afterwards, he hangs back a bit. Remus makes Harry a cup of tea, and Harry smiles as he thinks back on third year. 

“I’ll miss this place.”

“And it will miss you.”

Two weeks after the school year ends, Harry spends taking his NEWTs. He does extremely well in Defense Against the Dark Arts. He also does well in Transfiguration, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Herbology, and surprisingly, Potions. 

Harry thinks Snape would be livid to know that his old notes helped Harry succeed, and that makes it all the better. 

Harry spends one last summer left to his own devices before he starts working full time at Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. 

In the beginning of August, Remus and Sirius get married. It’s a small ceremony, and Harry is Sirius’ best man. 

At the end of the day, Sirius asks Harry how he feels about being a big brother.

(Tonks has agreed to be an egg donor. About 10 months later, Teddy Lupin will be born. Harry will be his proud and indulgent big brother and godfather, but Teddy will grow up with both his parents and an absolutely badass Aunt Tonks.)

Nearing midnight, Harry is slow dancing with Ginny under the light of the stars. He spins her, and holds her close and thinks, “Maybe we turned out okay after all.”

Ginny kisses him, and, with a smile, he thinks they’ll be alright.


End file.
